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which sent me to the Advanced Energy Legislation Tracker a searchable database of pending legislation around different types of energy bills.
Now you can find out what your legislators are doing about renewables energy and tax credits.

One Project Closer in addition to being a great resource for DIY by actually doing and sharing are kicking it up a notch.
The folks at OPC have opened up a DIY Discussion Forum Here. This is a place for you to ask questions and discuss remodeling projects, from painting to site work.

A report posted on the National Association of Home Builders website is noting that a preliminary multi agency investigation is inclusive. That posting is here.Early Findings Inconclusive on Chinese Drywall Hazards
The original government reports are available here Most of them are in PDF.

This is not the end of the issue or the investigations. You should note that the NAHB is a industry funded group, funded by a lot of the home builders that built these houses. Outside of the continuing investigations the importation of Chinese Drywall has stopped.

In a drywall related matter, I noticed that the local Lowes stores have discounted the Denswall paperless drywall. This stuff was supposed to mitigate mold problems. I don’t know either way. But it does require a different group of materials for finishing. I am sure that part of the lack of adoption was price, as it is significantly more expensive than standard drywall, even at closeout pricing.

Electricity is one of those things that deserves respect. I came across a new term this morning on a tip from DIY Insanity, ACFI or Arc-fault circuit interrupter. From Wikipedia comes this explanation:

An arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) is a circuit breaker designed to prevent fires by detecting non-working electrical arcs and disconnect power before the arc starts a fire.
The AFCI should distinguish between a working arc that may occur in the
brushes of a vacuum sweeper, light switch, or other household devices
and a non-working arc that can occur, for instance, in a lamp cord that
has a broken conductor in the cord from overuse. Arc faults in a home
are one of the leading causes for household fires.

Moving forward it will probably save lives, and may be something to think about in doing serious electrical remodeling, but has not been adopted as a requirement across the US yet.

Having been sidelined for the last week and a half with my van having the electrical problem from hell, which turned out to be the alternator after all, I had some time on my hands.

From Green by Design comes:When Less Is More: Overhauling the Appraisal System which is a look at how houses are appraised and why changes to this system are needed. How your house uses energy, either by design, retrofitting, or remodeling, should play a significant role in value in the market. This dovetails nicely with The Real Cost, The Real Deal, featuring Michelle Kaufmann, whose designs look at the energy usage over time as well as green construction techniques.

For fans of Frank Lloyd Wright and the 'Prairie' style is a new blog, Prairie Blog which has a wide variety of articles surrounding this style.
Recently is this article about a student project, the Mod Fab house. (Be advised that the Prairie Blog is a giant time suck)